The Groundstar Conspiracy 2000 Horror Movie Review

“Groundstar” is a top-secret government space project, whose security has been breached, by Welles, one of its employees (Michael Sarrazin).  Escaping the facility with secret information, the man is severely injured, and when captured has no memory of who he is.  George Peppard is Tuxan, a hardened, single minded, government investigator in search of answers.  Nicole (Christine Belford) is a bystander drawn into the situation, as Tuxan attempts to unlock the secrets within Welles’s mind.

The film has a made for TV look and feel, with a plot that is not really original, or particularly credible.  The script doesn’t contain much action, or well-written dialog.  The atmosphere of big brother government is pervasive.  Tuxan, who routinely travels in a helicopter, is full of bluster, and attempts to orchestrate much of the action, yet doesn’t actually do much that is impressive.  The resolution to the story is rather unsatisfying, and implausible.  Unless you enjoy heavy-handed government tactics, you can skip this drama.

Groundstar was released while Peppard was doing the TV show Banacek.  Fans of that program, should be prepared for quite different type of character.  The same applies to Christine Belford, who also had a reoccurring role on Banacek.  There are no warm scenes with witty conversation between them.  Michael Sarrazin has the most challenging role, and his performance while serviceable, is hampered by having to deliver some very bad lines.